In the mid-1990s, people who received BOTOX for other conditions reported improvement in their chronic migraine pain. A two-phase study was conducted, treating patients who averaged 20 headache days a month. They received BOTOX injections every twelve weeks for 56 weeks. At the end of that period, 70% of the patients had fewer than half the number of headaches they had before treatment. The FDA officially approved BOTOX to treat chronic migraine in October of 2010. Since then, more than 100,000 patients have been treated.
Some critics say Botox makes you lose all the personality from your face, leaving you with a significantly less range of motion when you laugh, or get angry or upset. While it’s true that your movement will be restricted, a moderate amount of Botox will still allow you to react and communicate in a lively way. “Botox relaxes the wrinkle-forming facial muscles at the sight of injection, such as crow’s feet, glabella (the ‘furrows’ in between the brows), and frontalis (forehead lines),” Dr. Waibel says. “Botox does not affect other facial muscles that are used for overall facial expressions.”
Some doctors, however, say their experience with their own patients indicates Botox — which was approved by the FDA in 2010 to treat migraines — is quite effective for this purpose. Lawrence Newman, MD, a neurologist and director of the headache division at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, says many of his patients have experienced a significant decline in the number of headaches per month after receiving Botox. In many cases, he says, it has cut down that number by 50% and frequently more than that.
A recent encounter with one of my headache patients got me thinking. I am treating this young woman for chronic migraine with BOTOX injections. She told me that one of her other physicians had been surprised to hear about this use for onabotulinumtoxin A. According to my patient, the gastroenterologist’s words were, “BOTOX for migraines? I’ve never heard of that.”
The Company is developing a number of products, some of which utilize drug delivery systems, through a combination of internal and collaborative programs, such as Esmya, Sarecycline, Ubrogepant, Abicipar, Bimatoprost SR, Relamorelin, Rapastinel, Cenicriviroc and Atogepant. The Company's portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products within the US Specialized Therapeutics, US General Medicine and International segments includes Alphagan/Combigan, which is used for the treatment of selective alpha2 agonist; Armour Thyroid, which is used for the treatment of Underactive thyroid; Asacol/Delzicol, which is used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; Botox, which is used for the treatment of acetylcholine release inhibitor; Bystolic, which is used for the treatment of hypertension; Carafate/Sulcrate, which is used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, and Dalvance, which is used for the treatment of acute bacterial skin infections. It also offers Estrace Cream, which is used for the treatment of hormone therapy; Linzess/Constella, which is used for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome; Lo Loestrin which is an oral contraceptive; Lumigan/Ganfort, which is used for the treatment of prostaglandin analogue; Minastrin 24, which is an oral contraceptive; Namenda IR, Namenda XR and Namzaric, which are used for the treatment of Dementia; Restasis, which is used for the treatment of topical immunomodulator; Saphris, which is used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar mania; Teflaro, which is used for the treatment of acute bacterial skin infections, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia; Viberzi, which is used for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome; Viibryd/Fetzima, which is used for the treatment of depressive disorders, and Zenpep, which is used for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. The Company also offers CoolSculpting, which is a controlled-cooling fat reducing system.
Lastly, a Botox treatment does not offer permanent results. Botox is most effective when treatments are carried out at regular intervals before the results fully wear off. On average, the results last for three to four months, although Botox metabolizes at different rates in different individuals. The first ever Botox treatment you receive may not last as long as subsequent treatments, plus you may require touch-ups two weeks after the procedure as your injector determines the right dosage for you. Over time, however, many patients notice that they can wait longer intervals between treatments as their treated facial muscles weaken.
After a muscle has been injected, the nerves still send the signal to the muscle to contract, and the acetylcholine is still released, but is unable to bind to the muscle, resulting in a reduction of muscle activity and temporarily preventing contraction of the muscles that cause frown lines. The binding process typically begins within about 48 hours from the time it is injected into the muscle, and results typically become noticeable within 7 to 10 days. While results are often most noticeable in dynamic wrinkles (wrinkles that appear when a muscle contracts), it can also help soften wrinkles that are present even without muscle contraction. If you’re serious about improving the appearance of moderate to severe frown lines, it may be just the right treatment option for you.
Think about it this way: people make facial expressions every single day, whether it's expressing an emotion (i.e. smiling) or simply out of habit (i.e. raising your brows). Making facial expressions causes temporary dynamic lines to show up in your face. These lines go away when your face returns to rest. However, as you continue to make facial expressions, day after day and year after year, and as your skin ages, these lines start to get etched in your skin. That's when frown lines get progressively deeper for people who frown all the time. Or when crow's feet stay put even after you stop smiling or squinting. Eventually, what once were dynamic wrinkles become wrinkles that are just there, even when you don't make any facial expressions.
Recently, there have been concerns about retrograde botulinum toxin transmission, meaning that the toxin could travel back to the central nervous system, causing long-term damage. Studies done in Italy by Flavia Antonucci have been mainly on a raw form of the toxin and not any of the commercially available preparations. Additionally, these studies have been performed on animals and with the injection of the toxin to one area and in a concentration of nearly 150 times greater than normal injections for cosmetic indications, which are spread over multiple sites.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study in adult patients with detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition and restrictive lung disease of neuromuscular etiology [defined as FVC 50-80% of predicted value in patients with spinal cord injury between C5 and C8, or MS] the event rate in change of Forced Vital Capacity ≥15% or ≥20% was generally greater in patients treated with BOTOX than in patients treated with placebo (see Table 6).
No definitive serious adverse event reports of distant spread of toxin effect associated with dermatologic use of BOTOX® Cosmetic at the labeled dose of 20 Units (for glabellar lines), 24 Units (for lateral canthal lines), 40 Units (for forehead lines with glabellar lines), 44 Units (for simultaneous treatment of lateral canthal lines and glabellar lines), and 64 Units (for simultaneous treatment of lateral canthal lines, glabellar lines, and forehead lines) have been reported.
The biological blocking powers of Botox are used to treat migraines, muscular disorders, and some and bowel disorders. It can treat muscle stiffness, muscle spasms, overactive bladder, or loss of bladder control, too. It's also used to stop excessive sweating. "Botox blocks glands the same way it blocks nerves in muscles," Sobel tells SELF. However, don't expect to stop sweating entirely, he says. "You've got to sweat somewhere." What's more, Botox will last far longer in these sweaty situations since the glands are far smaller than the muscles treated, says Rowe.
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Botox is a drug made from a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum called botulinum toxin. "It's a poison secreted by the bacteria," plastic surgeon Norman Rowe, M.D., tells SELF. Botulinum toxin has proven to be a successful and valuable therapeutic protein when dosage, frequency of treatment and variety of treated clinical conditions are considered, according to Howard Sobel, M.D., a dermatologist in New York. Basically: when it's done right. When it's done wrong—like, really, really wrong—it can cause "botulism-like symptoms," according to Mayo Clinic, which may include muscle weakness, trouble breathing, speaking or swallowing, bladder control issues, and vision problems. That is "very unlikely," but a more than convincing enough reason not to go bargain hunting for Botox.
It was peculiar advice coming from a shrink, but not without precedent. In 2014, Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Dr. Eric Finzi, an assistant professor of psychiatry at George Washington School of Medicine, published a study showing that when people with major depression got Botox, they reported fewer symptoms six weeks later than people who had been given placebo injections. "I'm always on the lookout for things that are unusual and interesting for depression," says Rosenthal, who is widely considered an expert on the condition. "I've found Botox to be helpful, but it's still not mainstream."

In two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in patients with detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition (NDO-1 and NDO-2), the proportion of subjects who were not using clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) prior to inject ion and who subsequently required catheterization for urinary retention following treatment with BOTOX 200 Units or placebo is shown in Table 9. The duration of post-injection catheterization for those who developed urinary retention is also shown.

That Groupon offer might be tempting, but Dr. Tutela recommends doing a thorough vetting of your practitioner’s history and methods before signing up for treatment. “I think it is important to ask any provider if they perform that procedure frequently, to gauge their experience,” he says. He also suggests to ask if they’ve experienced any major complications and to check their online reviews. “You can get a sense of how you will be treated and what kind of experience other patients have had,” Dr. Tutela says. “Many of those low-cost, high-volume practices are loaded with horrible reviews from disappointed patients.”
In the first study, researchers examined a sample of healthy subjects and patients with a diagnosis of migraine -any frequency-, and analysed the presence of trigger points and their location, many of the explorations resulting in a migraine crisis. The most interesting findings of this study were: 95% of migraine sufferers have trigger points, while only 25% of healty subjects have them. The most common locations of trigger points are the anterior temporal and the suboccipital region, both billateral, of the head. Furthermore, researchers found a positive correlation among the number of trigger points in a patient, the number of monthly crises and the duration in years of the condition.
Most people tolerate the injection discomfort well. But you may want your skin to be numbed beforehand, especially if your palms or soles are being treated for excessive sweating. Your doctor might use one or more of various methods available to numb the area, such as topical anesthesia, ice and vibration anesthesia, which uses massage to reduce discomfort.
In response to the occurrence of these side effects, in 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified the public of the potential dangers of the botulinum toxin as a therapeutic. Namely, they warned that the toxin can spread to areas distant from the site of injection and paralyze unintended muscle groups, especially when used for treating muscle spasticity in children treated for cerebral palsy.[28] In 2009, the FDA announced that boxed warnings would be added to available botulinum toxin products, warning of their ability to spread from the injection site.[29] Additionally, the FDA announced name changes to several botulinum toxin products, meant to emphasize that the products are not interchangeable and require different doses for proper use. Botox and Botox Cosmetic were renamed onabotulinumtoxinA, Myobloc was renamed rimabotulinumtoxinB, and Dysport name renamed abobotulinumtoxinA.[29] In conjunction with this, the FDA issued a communication to health care professionals reiterating the new drug names and the approved uses for each.[30] A similar warning was issued by Health Canada in 2009, warning that botulinum toxin products can spread to other parts of the body.[31]
In November, the FDA held a two-day hearing asking for expert comment on the agency's rules concerning off-label drug use and marketing. Some said the practice paves the way for scientific progress and gives doctors and their patients much needed alternatives for hard-to-treat medical conditions. Others said that off-label drug use is primarily financially motivated and that it poses a serious threat to public health, particularly when drugs are used experimentally on children.
Botox has also been shown to prevent chronic migraines, but there, it's unclear exactly why Botox works. (For doctors, reaching a firm understanding of how Botox prevents migraines will be tricky, since they don't know for certain what causes the severe headaches in the first place.) "There were multiple clinical trials for migraines, and most of them failed," says Dr. Mitchell Brin, senior vice president of drug development at Allergan and chief scientific officer for Botox. "It took a long time to figure out where to inject and how much." Today people who receive Botox for migraine prevention get 31 injections in different spots on their head and neck. The effects of Botox can last about three to six months depending on the condition.
Above all, I try to be gentle with myself and my children. It’s easier said than done. Mom guilt and migraine guilt weigh heavy on my heart, and I continue to remind myself that I’m doing my best. I give myself a break as I do with my children when they’re having a bad day. I’m patient with them and try to give myself the same respect. As a mom, it seems like my job is never done and that I can always do better. The reality is, no one is perfect, and we all have our flaws. We don’t expect our children to be perfect, and we should not expect ourselves to be. We do what we can when we can and take each day as it comes. I find joy in the smallest things and find that being grateful and mindful remind me off all the blessings I have, despite my unpredictable and chronic migraine attacks.
BOTOX blocks neuromuscular transmission by binding to acceptor sites on motor or sympathetic nerve terminals, entering the nerve terminals, and inhibiting the release of acetylcholine. This inhibition occurs as the neurotoxin cleaves SNAP -25, a protein integral to the successful docking and release of acetylcholine from vesicles situated within nerve endings. When injected intramuscularly at therapeutic doses, BOTOX produces partial chemical denervation of the muscle resulting in a localized reduction in muscle act ivity. In addition, the muscle may atrophy, axonal sprouting may occur, and extrajunctional acetylcholine receptors may develop. There is evidence that reinnervation of the muscle may occur, thus slowly reversing muscle denervation produced by BOTOX.

Exactly how soon you'll need to return for more Botox injections is really up to you. Some patients prefer to return for a touch up of Botox cosmetic after just three months, or at the very first sign of fine lines and facial wrinkles returning. Others prefer to wait six months or more until the effects of the previous injection have completely faded away.

Facelift: What you need to know A facelift aims to make the face look more youthful. The procedure can remove excess skin from the face and smooth wrinkles. However, it may not be suitable for everyone. Complications can occur, for example, infections, especially in people with existing health conditions. Relapse and scarring are also possible. Read now